Virtualization is increasingly important for a number of different technologies and for a number of different reasons. In VoIP systems, for example, virtualization is increasingly important because it enables reduced costs and increased flexibility. Costs are reduced in part because companies are able to focus on software applications without having to worry about hardware integration. Also, because virtual machines are software based, scaling considerations become non-issues in many instances. Flexibility is increased because features and/or capacity can often be added with simple software changes as opposed to also requiring hardware changes. Reduced costs and increased flexibility can also result from centralized and/or cloud-based deployments. These reasons can be compelling, especially for growing companies that face scaling concerns, or for small companies that need access to certain features without incurring prohibitive costs.
Because of the increasing importance of virtualization, improved methods for implementing virtualization in VoIP systems are constantly desired.